Change
by OragamiBeauty
Summary: She broke. But they picked up the pieces and put her back together again. Rated T for... well, because


_**A/N:**_** Read & Review ^_~**

**Disclaimer: Jiraiya's hair is White, Kisame's skin is Blue, I don't own Naruto, so you no sue.**

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~***F**un**H**ouse*~

The fire, the combustion, the smell of the smoke, it cleared her mind, her blood, her soul. It was her sweet salvation, watching the flames lick up the gasoline, following the liquid trail up the walls and down the stairs. She sat there, perched on the window, watching as the fire consumed the third floor of the large hospital.

"Ten… nine… eight…" She whispered quietly, her words lost in the screams of the patients, the nurses, the doctors.

How could she do this?

"Seven… six… five…" She giggled, leaning back so her torso was hanging out of the window. She stared up at the smoke, the lung-infecting smoke that tried -futilely- to reach the glowing stars. She felt a kinship with it.

She must be insane.

"Four… three…" She released her tentative grasp on the window sill, gripping the brick above the window. She swung out, hanging from the wall, watching as the fire consumed the room she had been sitting in.

There's no way any self-respecting medical ANBU could do this to their own village, their own people…

"Two… one…"

And yet, here she was, climbing out the window, her white medical ANBU cloak ruffling in the breeze. She made it onto the roof, where she stared down at the people on the streets. Many looked up, pointing.

Who wouldn't recognize the pink hair, the white cat mask, the thigh-high boots?

"Boom."

Then, in a burst of smoke -half from her Transportation jutsu, half from the collapsing building- she was gone.

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~***C**rystal**B**all*~

"You do realize that we're not even an organization anymore? Just three S-class criminals?" Startlingly yellow eyes, eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Yup. But, you could rebuild it. With me, of course. You know that I'm the best medic there is. Even better than Lady Tsunade was. I even know… I know a resurrection jutsu." Sour-apple eyes glimmered defiantly, meeting his fearlessly. The white-skinned Venus Flytrap eyed her critically, then returned his gaze to her's.

"Fine. Haruno Sakura, you will join the us." Soft lips curved into a pleased grin, eyes closing as she savored the statement.

"But of course, Zetsu-san."

There were no questions of _Why?_

No questions of _Where did your "morals" go?_

It was simply understood.

Haruno Sakura had lost the one thing that kept her tied to her village, to her tenuous loyalty-

Her humanity.

And, just like a fragile crystal ball, the tiny crack in the glass had grown, and when that tiny bit of pressure was applied…

She shattered.

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~***G**litter**I**n**T**he**A**ir*~

"Hey, Ita-kun, Dei-kun, watch me dance!" She twirled around on the roof of the burning hospital. She was laughing, her eyes sparkling with an insane happiness. The glitter she had thrown into the air mingled with the smoke, flashing with the light of the flames that licked at her red-and-black Akatsuki cloak.

"Sakura-hime… I think it's time to go," Itachi stated, his tone disinterested and bland as he watched her twirl and wiggle. Her hair was long, the pink tresses falling down to her waist, little red ribbons braided in here and there.

Such a beautiful, angelic-looking woman.

That was, until you got a look at her eyes.

They reflected the flames, always, even when there was no fire around. They burned with intense happiness and rage. Her temper was volatile, her happiness seemingly perpetual.

Surely, she was insane.

After all, she had brought the Akatsuki back from the dead. She had helped them destroy her village. But, she had betrayed them once.

Instead of capturing the Kyuubi, she killed him. She twisted his neck, as if it were made of the thinnest of bones, and snapped his spine. She blocked off his chakra flow, broke each of his bones, even after death. Making sure that he was dead.

Making sure that her past could never come back to haunt her.

And then she'd set fire to the whole village, laughing with Deidara as they threw bombs everywhere.

Really, Deidara was such a bad influence on the girl.

"Can I touch it, Ita-kun?" She asked him with faux-naïveté, extending a hand towards the fire. But, before the stoic Uchiha could forbid her to, Kakuzu had already yanked her away from the fire, stating,

"Don't catch your cloak on fire. Do you know how much one of these things cost?" But, of course, it wasn't only the cloak he was worried about.

They each cared for the pink-haired psycho, in their individual ways.

She only laughed, throwing her arms around the stitched-up man.

And the glitter fell into the flames.

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~***C**omfort*~

When she finally broke down and cried, they were all there to comfort her.

When she screamed her sorrow, finally grieving the loss of her blond teammate, of her beloved friends, they soothed her.

Kakuzu wrapped her in his favorite blanket -a soft down blanket the color of the sunrise- and whispered sweet words of shopping sprees and spas.

Deidara wiped her tears away, telling her stories of his home village, Iwagakure, of how he would teach her to sculpt.

Itachi simply sat there, running his fingers through her hair, his lips pressed together. But, in his mind, he told her of the time he had eaten his very first ice cream cone.

When her mourning faded and she started to curse the world, they were still there.

Hidan held her against him -even as her fists beat against his chest and she yelled threats- and supplied her with new cuss words, silently impressed with her large stock of four-letter words.

When she tried to drink the pain away, they were by her.

Kisame sat by her at the bar, listening to her nonsensical babbling, his hand resting against the small of her back to keep her from falling out of her chair. Supporting. Listening.

Sasori sat on her other side, supplying the steady stream of shot glasses and bottles of vodka. He was the bodyguard, glaring at each and every man that so much as glanced at the pinkette.

When she was finally coming out of her mourning, sober, they were still there.

Zetsu -now one persona, without any split personality to speak of- brought her breakfast in the morning, dragged her outside to eat lunch in the garden, and forced her down to the dinner table for supper. He made her live life again.

Konan lay with her at night. Purple and pink, curled up together like sisters, the older woman keeping Sakura's nightmares away simply by being there.

Pein trained with her. No jutsu, no weapons. To get her back in shape, both mentally and physically. He pushed her harder than the rest.

And she loved them all for it.

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*~**F**amily**M**atters~*

The Akatsuki decided to quit.

They no longer found themselves caring about the rest of the world.

They no longer cared about their plans, their once-upon-a-time schemes.

And so, they found a neutral village and started a new life. Zetsu, and Kisame raised a thriving garden, while Itachi, Pein, and Hidan took to miscellaneous jobs in the nearby city. Sasori and Deidara had their own little shops. Deidara sold fireworks and sculptures while Sasori sold hand-made furniture and dolls. Kakuzu worked at the local clinic, doing stitches and the like as a nurse, with Sakura as a doctor. Konan had an origami shop, where she sold kites and origami figurines.

They were content. Happy.

Sakura had her family.

Playful Zetsu. Dependable Itachi. Foul-mouthed Hidan. Contemplative Sasori. Mischievous Deidara. Frugal Kakuzu. Motherly Konan. Fatherly Pein.

And then she had her beloved Kisame. The one she fell into bed with each night, the one who stroked her swelling belly with heartbreaking gentleness. The man she loved.

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_**A/N:**_** O.o Wow. It started out as her being all crazy-pyromaniac, and then it turned into… this. I initially didn't plan for a happy ending. However, I like this. So… Anyways. REVIEW.**


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